This past week, you turned twenty eight months old. This month seemed a lot longer than recent months, and I think it’s probably because we’ve had so much going on.

You’re becoming more and more independent, and most of the thing we used to help you with, you’re starting to do yourself. When we try to help you get undressed, get out of the car, sit on the potty, we hear, “My turn, my turn.”

We decided to take the rail off of your bed this past month, so now you’ve got a real big girl bed. We were worried about you falling out of bed, but so far you’ve been sleeping through the night without rolling out. What we should have been worried about was you getting out of bed. You’re already figuring out how to be sneaky, since now you can get out and back into your bed. I’m sure there have been nights where you’re just partying away, quietly, in your room. The only way we know that you’re out of bed is if one of your noisy toys gives you away, or we find you with a bed full of toys, clothes, or both in the morning.

You are making more and more abstract connections in your brain every day. My favorite one this past month was when you asked me about a song. Your mother has this song called “Shake shake” on her iPod. I’m not sure if that’s even the title of the song, but that’s what you call it. One day, we were driving in my car and you asked me to play Shake Shake. I told you that I don’t have Shake Shake on my radio, and you came right back at me with, “Only in Mama’s car?” I almost ran off the road.

Your Nanna and Dodd came to visit again this past month, and now you’ve started calling them by their real names. I think it’s pretty cool that you now say Grandpa Rick and Nanna Connie, which is probably what you’ll call them from now on, but you’ve also set the naming convention for all future children. Until all the kids can say Grandpa Rick and Grandma Connie, they’ll start off as Nanna and Dodd.

We’re starting to figure you out a little better, and understand why you throw such big fits at times. We have stopped trying to battle with you and now just send you to time out when you tell us “no” or refuse to do something. The change we’ve made, though, is when you’re done in time out, we try again. The other day, you threw a piece of mail on the floor. When I asked you to please pick it up, you said, “No. You do it,” which has been pretty much the theme this month. I sent you to time out, you threw your little fit, and when you came back out, I asked you to pick it up again, to which you said, “No. You do it.” Wash, rinse, repeat. After your third time in time out, when I went back to get you, said looked at me and said in your most cheerful voice, “I go pick up paper now.” We also figured out that most of those tantrums come when we’re not paying enough attention to you.

I’m glad that we’re starting to understand you better, and you’re starting to understand us. It is so much fun to watch you grow and learn, and as always, we can’t wait to see what this next month brings.